Vehicle with movable seat and figured portion



March 31, 1959 L. E. LEVINSON 2,880,010

VEHICLE WITH MOVABLE SEAT AND FIGURED PORTION Filed Sept 11, 1956 (9&1

is 25 INYENTOR J4 law's E. Lew/15017 I6 24 BY 2f J J ATTORNEY VEHICLE WITH MOVABLE SEAT AND FIGURED PORTION Louis E. Levinson, Dallas, Tex.

Application September 11, 1956, Serial No. 609,163 2 Claims. (Cl. 280-1492) This invention relates to vehicles.

An object of this invention is to provide a vehicle, a seat of which is reciprocable vertically to simulate the movement incident to horseback riding.

, Another object of the invention is to provide :1; vehicle, of the type described above, having a front steering post provided at its lower end with a single ground engaging wheel and at its upper end with a head portion, which may be in the configuration of a horses head, and wherein the head portion oscillates about a horizontal axis as the vehicle is propelled.

Still another object is to provide a vehicle, of the type described above, wherein the head portion and the seat are moved simultaneously to imitate the movements incident to horseback riding.

A further object of the invention is to provide a toy vehicle, of the type described above, having a front steering post provided with a single ground engaging wheel which is rotatable by foot pedalsoperated by the rider mounted on a seat pivotally secured to the frame of the toy vehicle.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a toy vehicle, of the type described above, wherein the seat and the pedals are interconnected to effect a vertical reciprocatory movement of the seat whenever the foot pedals are operated by the rider.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a toy vehicle, of the type described above, wherein the steering post is provided with a head portion pivotally mounted thereon which is also connected to the foot pedals whereby the head portion is pivoted forwardly and downwardly as the seat is pivoted upwardly and forwardly and then upwardly and rearwardly as the seat is pivoted downwardly and rearwardly during each cycle of operation of the foot pedals.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the-following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing, i

Figure 1 is a side view of a toy vehicle constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a front view of the vehicle shown in Figure 1; and,

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawing, the toy vehicle includes a main frame 11 having a longitudinal tubular member 12 which curves downwardly and rearwardly at its rearward portion and to whose lower end is secured an arcuate rear member 13 having lower ends which support a shaft 14, which is rotatably journaled therein, the shaft 14 supporting a pair of ground engaging rear wheels 15 and 16. A sleeve bearing 17 is secured to the front end of the frame member 12 to receive the upper end 18 of a steering post 19 whose lower end is bifurcated to provide a pair of dependent legs 20 and 21. The lower ends of the legs 20 and 21 of the steering post are pro 2,880,010 Patented Mar. 31, 1959 vided with aligned apertures in which is journaled a shaft 22. p The shaft 22 has a front ground engaging wheel 23 rigidly or non-rotatably mounted thereon in a suitable manner. The outer portions of the shaft 22 extend laterally outwardly of the dependent legs 20 and 21 and have rigidly secured thereto, in a suitable manner, the cranks 24 and 25 which are provided with the usual foot pedals 26.

The upper end of the steering post above the bearing sleeve 17 is slotted to receive the head portion 30 which may be in the configuration of a horse's head and which is pivotally secured to the steering post for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis by a pin or bolt 31. The head portion is provided with a handle 32a which extends laterally outwardly on both sides thereof.

A seat 32 is mountedon the member 12 of the frame 11 by means of a pairof clamp straps 33 which are curved, as at 34, to extend about the frame member 12 and are clamped thereabout by means ofbolts 35. The seat 32 is provided with a dependent lug or ear 36 which is adapted to extend between the upper ends of the clamp backets 33, the upper bolt 35 passing through registering apertures in the clamp brackets and the lug 36 so that the seat is pivotable about the upper bolt 35 in the manner shown in broken lines in Figure 1.

A horizontal-lever 40 extends between the lower ends of the clamp brackets 33 and is pivotally secured thereto for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis by a suitable pin or bolt 41. The horizontal lever 40 is disposed below the frame member 12. The rear end of the horizontal lever 40 is pivotally secured thereto by means of a bolt or pin 43 to a link 44 whose upper end is pivotally secured to a dependent lug 44a of the seat 32 by means of a suitable pin or bolt 45. The link 44 and the horizontal lever 40 are bent as at 46 and 47, respectively, in order to permit the lower portion of the link 44 to be displaced laterally of the frame member 12 and thus permit reciprocable vertical movement of the link 44. It will now beapparent that when the horizontal lever 40 is pivoted in a counterclockwise manner as seen in Figure 1, the seat 32 will pivot upwardly and forwardly about the bolt 35 and that it will pivot downwardly and rearwardly when the horizontal lever 40 is pivoted in a clockwise manner about the axis 41. A vertical lever 50 is employed to effect such pivotal movement of the horizontal lever 40.

The vertical lever 50 has a bar 51 pivotally secured to its upper end by a bolt or pin 52. A link 53 has one end pivotally secured to the rear end of the bar 51 by a pin or bolt 54 and its other end pivotally secured to the forward end ofthe horizontal lever by a pin or bolt 55. The vertical lever has a pair of dependent legs 60 and 61 which extend inwardly of the legs 20 and 21 of the steering post and outwardly of the wheel 23. The dependent legs 61 and 60 of the vertical lever are enlarged at their lower ends, as at 62, and are provided with circular apertures or bores 63 in which are received the circular cams 64 and 65. The circular cams 64 and 65 are rigidly and eccentrically mounted on the shaft 22. It will thus be evident that as the shaft 22 is rotated by means of the pedals 26, the cams 64 and 65 will impart a vertical oscillatory or reciprocal movement to the vertical lever 50. Inwardly projecting arms 66 may be provided on both sides of the legs 20 and 21 of the steering post to prevent forward or rearward movement of the vertical lever 50.

The vertical lever 50 is also provided with a pair of forwardly and upwardly projecting arms 67 and 68 which are connected to the forward lower portion of the head part 30 by means of links 69 and 70. The links 69 and 70 are disposed on opposite sides of the fiat head part 30 and are pivotally secured thereto at their upper ends by means of a suitable pin or bolt 71 which extends through registering apertures in the links and the head part 30. The lower-ends of the links 69 and 70 are pivotally secured to the upper:v ends of the arms 67 and 68 by means of suitable link or bolt 72 which extends through registering apertures in the links and the arms.

It, will now be apparent-that as the rider seated onthe seat 32 rotates the shaft 22 by means ofthe pedals 26, the wheel 23 rotates and thus propels the vehicle over the ground. Simultaneously, the vertical lever 50 is reciprocated vertically by the cooperative action of the cams 64 and 65 with the lower ends of the legs 60 and 61, respectively. As the vertical lever is moved downwardly the lower ends of the links 69 and 70 are pulled downwardly to cause the head part 30 to pivot forwardly and downwardly about the pin or bolt 31. The horizontal. lever 40 is simultaneously caused to pivot in a counterclockwise direction about its pin or bolt 4-1 by the strap 51 and link'53 whereby'the rear" end of the seat 32 is moved upwardly-andforwardly, to the broken line position shown in Figure 1, by' the link 44'. After the vertical lever 50 has reached its lowermost position continued rotation of the shaft 22 causes the vertical lever 50 to move back to its upper position shown in Figure 1'. During such upward movement of'the vertical lever 50 the links 69' and 70 cause the head part 30 to pivot rearwardly and upwardly to the solid line position shown in Figure 1. Simultaneously, the horizontal lever 40 is caused to pivot in a clockwise manner, as shown in Figure 1, by the bar 51 and the link 53, whereby the rear end of the seat is'moved downwardly and rearwardly in itspivotal movement about the upper pin or bolt 35. Thus it will be seen that the rider of the toy vehicle experiences a movement very similar to that encountered in horseback riding since he ordinarily grasps the handles 32 with both hands and thus hisupper body is moved forwardly while the seat 32 moves upwardly. When the seat' 32 moves back and downwardly the head portion moves upwardly and rearwardl-y. Since the bar 51 is pivotally attached by the pin 52 to the upper end of'the vertical lever 50 and since the pin 52 extends along the axis of rotation of the steering post, the steering post is free to rotate in its bearing sleeve 17.

It will be apparent that while the vertical lever 50 has been shown as provided with a pair of dependent legs 60 and 61 and a pair of upwardly and forwardly projecting arms 68 and 67, a single leg and a single arm would provide the same function.

It' will now be apparent that a new and improved toy vehicle has been illustrated and described which includes a frame supported at its rear end by a pair of ground engagingwheels and at its front end by a steering post 18 rotatably mounted on the forward end of the frame. It-willbeapparent that the steering post isprovided with a horizontal shaft 22 at the lower end thereof which isrotatable and onwhich is mounted non-rotatably a ground engaging'wheel'23. It will alsobe apparent that the shaft'2'2ris rotated by' means of pedals 26' mounted on cranks 24' and 25' which are secured'to the outer-ends of the horizontal shaft 22.

It will also be apparent thata seat 32 is mounted on the frame 11 of the toy vehicle for'pivotal movement about a horizontal axis disposed adjacent and below its forward end, and that a head portion 30 is mounted on top of the steering post for similar pivotal movement about a horizontal axis. It will also be apparent that the head part 30 and the seat 32 are connected to a ver tical lever 50 which is vertically reciprocated by the cams 64 and 65 whenever the shaft 22 is rotated.

It will also be apparent that the illustrated and described toy vehicle 10 is of simple economical construction and obtains the desired movement of the seat and the head part by a simple mechanical linkage which connects the head part and the seat to the driving shaft 22 which also rotates the front wheel 23.

It will be apparentv that various changes in the construction of the toy vehicle canbe made without departing from the invention and it is intended, therefore, to cover in the appended claims all such changes or modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A vehicle comprising a frame having a rear end supported by at least one ground engaging wheel, a steering post rotatably mounted on the forward end of said frame for rotatable movement about a' substantially vertical axis, a head part pivotally mounted on the upper end of the steering post for'pivotal movement about a substantially horizontal axis, a seat mounted on the frame rearwardly of said head part for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis disposed adjacent the forward end of said seat, a horizontal shaft rotatably mounted on the lower end of thesteering post, a ground engaging wheel rigidly mounted on said shaft, means operable-from said seat for rotating said shaft, a substantially vertical drive member mounted on said shaft and extending upwardly therefrom, said shaft being provided with means for imparting vertical, reciprocal movement to said vertical drive member, and means connecting'said vertical drive member to said head part and said seat for imparting oscillatory movement tosaid seat and-saidhead part about their axes.

2. A vehicle comprising a framehaving a' rear end supported by at least one ground engaging wheel, a steer ing post rotatably mounted on the forward end of said frame for rotatable movement about a: substantially vertical axis, a head part pivotally mounted on the upper end of the steering post for pivotal movement about a substantially horizontal axis, a seat mounted on the frame rearwardly of said head part for'pivotal-movement about a horizontal axis disposed adjacent the forward end of said seat, a horizontal shaft rotatably mounted on the lower end of the steering post, a ground engaging wheel rigidly mounted on said shaft, means operable from said seat for rotating saidshaft, a substantially vertical drive member mounted on said shaft and extending upwardly therefrom, cam means rigidlymounted on said shaft and engaging said vertical drive member-for imparting vertical, reciprocal movement to said vertical drive'memher, and meansconnecting'saidvertical leverto said head part and said seat. for imparting-oscillatory'movement to said seat and said: head part about their axes;

References Cited in the file of thistpatent' UNITED STATES PATENTS 90,797 Thompson Jan. 1, 1869 1,414,950 Hoge May 2, 1922 1,859,617 Carlstrom May 24, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS 615,397 France Oct. 11, .1926 

